Reconstructionist Entities to Merge

April 13, 2011

After nearly two years of merger talks, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote and the Jenkintown-based Jewish Reconstructionist Federation have officially agreed to combine and form one organization.

The final step in the process came at a Philadelphia meeting on Sunday. Delegates from the 105 congregations affiliated with the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move.

The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, also based in the Philadelphia-area, will remain a separate entity.

The new, yet-to-be-named organization will be run by a unified board and professional staff, and is expected to formally launch in the fall of this year.

According to the 2009 "Jewish Population Study of Greater Philadelphia," 3 percent of the region's Jews identity as Reconstructionist.

The reshuffling comes on the heels of major overhauls within the Reform and Conservative movements aimed at trimming costs, more efficiently serving congregations and finding more effective ways to engage unaffiliated Jews.